Bloodlines

Chapter Three

:III:

“Cap'n! You're here! You gonna explain what that wretched wench is doing here?” A man with tangled dark hair and sharp brown eyes shouted.

“Quiet, Jeffery, I will explain. But don't think for a moment you have any say in what we do with her.” The pirate who had spoken before lowered his head in shame.

“But cap'n, it's bad luck to have a dame on board! She'll get our ship sunk!” A younger boy with sun-streaked brown hair protested.

“And if I cast her off those damn mermaids will give us hell. Besides, she's a special case. Boys, this is Red. She's cursed. I'd advise you to keep your filthy hands off her unless you fancy losing them.” Valentine tightened his grip on Red's wrist.

“You heard the captain!” Peter yelled, quieting the whispers. “Hey there Red! You remember me, right? Peter, the first mate? This is Cecil but ery'one calls him Scout cause that's what he's good at. Scout's a weird one but I think you'll like him.”

The smaller boy, Scout, stepped forward hesitantly. “Pleased ta meet ya miss,” he muttered. “Like Peter said, I'm Cecil but most people just call me Scout cause that's what I am. The scout that is.” He looked down at his feet shyly.

“Nice to meet you Scout,” Red greeted warmly. She cast a look at Valentine, noting the scowl on his face.

“I'm Gabriel,” the boy who had pointed out it was bad luck to have Red on board introduced himself.

“I'm Nathaniel,” a lean boy with reddish-blonde hair introduced himself. “You're a pretty little thing, aren't you?”

Valentine hissed a warning as he pulled Red away from the pirate. “I'd advise you to stay away from her if you like your face the way it is.”

“Jeffery. Call me Jeff and I'll break your arm,” the man with black hair introduced himself roughly.

“Nice to meet you... Jeffy.” Red smirked at the angered expression on Jeffery's face. Beside her, Valentine sighed.

“If he didn't deserve that, I'd punish you for disobeying,” he informed her quietly.

Valentine explained that while he had other men, he didn't trust them enough to let them near Red. Red herself wasn't sure if he didn't trust them not to hurt or kill her, or if he didn't trust them to stay loyal to him. Either way, she didn't really mind. She didn't want to make friends or anything, she wanted to go home.

“Come on Red! You need better clothes! Scout, come help me!” Peter chirped when introductions were done. Frowning, Red looked down at her skinny jeans and tee shirt.

“What's wrong with what I'm wearing?” She asked slowly, confused.

“Well, I mean it's not very lady like. Don't you wanna get in a nice dress or something? I mean... Well only whores wear pants. Are you a whore?”

“I'm not a whore. Where I'm from, girls wear pants and it's just a normal thing.” Red explained slowly. Peter just frowned.

“That's weird. Come on, I think we have some dresses under the deck from one of the ships we uh... well robbed. Come on!” The cheerful boy linked arms with Red and lead her down under the deck. It was dark and it took several minutes for her vision to adjust.

“I'm not just gonna wear dresses. That's impractical.” Red protested as Peter rummaged around in a few trunks. He ignored her in favor of looking for clothing.

A good twenty minutes later, Red found herself carrying a bundle of clothing out onto the deck. Peter and Scout were also carrying stuff. The kind, if somewhat innocent, first mate insisted on going to Valentine's quarters, despite Red's protests. He informed her that she would be sleeping there, captain's orders.

Surprisingly, the clothing Peter picked wasn't terrible. There were couple cream colored dresses, a few off-white blouses, earth-toned skirts and a peachy, satin dress that was actually rather pretty. She was also given a pair of sturdy, lace up boots, several pairs of silk socks and tights, and what looked like a death trap. Peter informed her it was a corset.

Peter insisted on staying with Red while she tried her new clothing on, although Scout fled the room. Peter informed her that the shy boy had a phobia of naked bodies, much to the crew's amusement.

Hesitantly, Red tried on her new clothing. To her surprise, not only did it fir, it also looked fairly good on her. Peter, face tinged pin. k, informed her she looked “like a real lady” when he saw her. The only downside was the corset, it restricted her breathing and felt too tight.

“Peter I can't breathe....” Red hissed when he tightened the laces even more.

“Sorry! Here I'll just loosen it a bit then? You look really pretty.” He tied the strings off in a clumsy bow and stepped away.

“Do I really have to wear this? I mean, you're a bunch of pirates. Not exactly civil company...” She smiled slightly, hopefully.

“Sorry Red, cap'n's orders. He wants you to look pretty. I think we're stopping somewhere, can't have you wearing your stuff. If you really wanna wear pants I bet Scout's your size. Take it up with Valentine if it really bothers you.”

Red sighed and nodded in agreement. Wordlessly, she took the peachy dress and slipped it over her underdress and corset, lifting her hair out of the way. The opal necklace was tucked under the bodice, she didn't want anyone seeing it.

“Come on! Scout you can come in here, the naked bodies are gone! Let's go get Valentine!” Peter bounced happily, sitting Red down on the bed and running out the door. Slowly, Scout followed, looking back and smiling at Red. The time traveler smiled back before staring at the floor and wondering why she had ended up on a pirate ship.

“That color suits you. Stand up.” Valentine's voice pulled Red from her musings. Startled, she obeyed, stumbling as she did so. Valentine steadied her easy, slipping an arm around her shoulders. “Can I trust you to stand still for a moment or will you fall over on me?” His voice was rude, mocking.

“Oh just shut up. This outfit is worse than useless. Can I have, like, pants or something? And I'm not wearing this stupid death trap, no matter how 'tiny' it'll make my waist. My waist is just fine, thank you!” She glared at the pirate captain, crossing her arms.

“Look, you can wear whatever you want later. You wanna wear pants like some sort of harlot, fine. Hell, I'll teach you to fight. Maybe you'll be useful. But for once can you just shut your mouth and listen?”

Red nodded mutely, watching Valentine. He walked over to a chest on the floor and opened it with a worn key. He dug around for a bit before pulling out a silver dagger bound with brown leather. “Here, take this and hide it in your corset, under your dress. Keep it on you at all times. If someone tries to drag you off, stab them, kill them, do whatever it takes.”

She took the knife silently and lifted her dress up and slipping it into the small space between underskirt and corset. “But what am I going to need this for?” She asked slowly, confused.

“We need to make a brief stop. I need to pick up a few things and I know someone who can get you good clothing. A seamstress, she always has stuff on hand. But she needs to measure you and that means I have to take you with me. Which means you're going to have to follow some rules unless you want to get us in trouble. First of all, do you know the common fate of women on pirate ships?”

Red frowned, thinking, before shaking her head. “I just know there was a superstition that women on board were bad luck...” she trailed off.

Valentine sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Women captured are generally treated like... well, prostitutes. My men are going to assume I am treating you like this and just not... sharing. When we go into the town, you're going to need to act like a slave, basically. Listen to whatever I say, don't disobey, don't leave my side. And don't speak to anyone except the seamstress. Can you do that?”

Wide eyed, Red nodded slowly and repeated the rules. Valentine smiled and nodded. “Good. Now come on, we're going to arrive oh about,” the ship swayed and stopped, “now.”

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Enjoy!